After a decade of driving sales and performing standup comedy around the Twin Cities, Marial “settled” down to start a family and career. Five years later, Marial found herself applying for a divorce on the same day she applied to the University of Minnesota’s College of Education & Human Development to pursue a Master’s in education. Attaining higher education while becoming a single-parent to four children while working full-time and part-time jobs left Marial physically and mentally exhausted. Marial now focuses her energy on advocacy work and research around the intersections of parenting and employment exploring the implications on employees, employers, caretakers, and children. When Marial is not exploring passions of her own, she can be found learning alongside her four young children in Hudson, WI.